BAIC Foton and ZF Strategic Partnership Bears New Fruit — First AxTrax 2 Electric Drive Axle Rolls Off the Line

On June 22, the strategic partnership between BAIC Foton and ZF bore new fruit — the first AxTrax 2 electric drive axle from their joint venture plant officially rolled off the assembly line in Jiaxing, marking a critical step for BAIC Foton in gaining key influence over core new-energy components for commercial vehicles and achieving a major leap from strategic planning to on-the-ground execution. Zhang Lan, Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of Jiaxing Economic and Technological Development Zone; Chang Rui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of BAIC Group and Chairman of BAIC Foton; Lu Zhenghua, Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of BAIC Foton; Cui Shipeng, Deputy General Manager of BAIC Foton and Chairman of ZF-Foton; Andreas Moser, Member of the ZF Group Board of Directors and Head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions and Industrial Technology Divisions; and hundreds of guests from government, both shareholder parties, partners, and media gathered together to witness this milestone moment.

01 Aligning with Industry Transformation — Strategic Layout Bears Fruit

Today, the automotive industry is experiencing once-in-a-century upheaval, with electrification and intelligentization sweeping the globe. During the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the domestic commercial vehicle market is expected to stabilize at around 3.2 million units, with new-energy penetration projected to reach 50% by 2030 and L2+ autonomous driving adoption in commercial vehicles reaching 30%. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition is reshaping the global energy supply chain, and energy self-sufficiency has risen to a core strategic priority for nations, compelling the commercial vehicle industry to accelerate its transition from fuel-driven to electric-drive powertrains.

Built on a profound understanding of these industry trends, BAIC Foton and ZF signed a strategic agreement in April 2023 to introduce ZF's latest electric drive technology to China for the first time, with production based in Jiaxing. After three years of meticulous construction and preparation, the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle officially rolled off the line at the joint venture plant, transforming this strategic blueprint into reality.

As ZF's integrated electric drive axle platform designed for next-generation commercial vehicles, the AxTrax 2 can be applied to medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Its modular design replaces the engine, transmission, driveshaft, differential, and conventional axle to achieve full commercial vehicle electrification. The product rolled off today features a silicon carbide inverter on a platform of up to 930V, delivering 210 kW continuous output power and 26,000 N·m peak torque, equipped with a 3-speed transmission and electronic shift actuator. Its compact design maximizes available space for battery placement while achieving full synchronization with vehicle braking, ADAS, and autonomous driving systems, providing an efficient and intelligent system-level solution for the electrification transformation of commercial vehicles.

02 Jiaxing Base Continues to Empower — Joint Venture Reaches New Heights

Since BAIC Foton and ZF established their joint venture in Jiaxing in 2017, the partnership has deepened continuously. To date, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant has achieved cumulative sales revenue of 20 billion yuan (approximately RMB 20 billion). Leveraging advanced production systems and intelligent equipment, the Jiaxing base is becoming ZF's key manufacturing, R&D, and functional headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region. The official roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle represents a critical step in extending the partnership from conventional transmissions into the electric drive domain.

In his address, Lu Zhenghua expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Jiaxing Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, the Economic Development Zone, and relevant departments for their long-standing care and support of the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant. He also paid high tribute to the project team and all employees who worked day and night to overcome challenges. He stated that the roll-off of the new product is only the first step of a long journey and put forward three expectations for the joint venture's future development:

First, continue to lead through technology — fully leverage ZF's global technology advantages and BAIC Foton's vehicle-level scenario strengths to accelerate the efficient conversion of electric drive axles from technology reserves to commercial delivery;

Second, deepen customer value — focus on core scenarios such as trunk-line logistics and regional transportation, accelerating the value conversion from "production delivery" to "customer profitability";

Third, advance localization and cost reduction with efficiency gains — relying on the resilience and scale advantages of the domestic industrial chain, accelerate component localization so that globally-qualified electric drive axles can benefit customers at a better cost-performance ratio, helping new-energy commercial vehicles accelerate their transition from "policy-driven" to "market-driven."

03 Anchoring the "15th Five-Year Plan" — Supporting Green Transformation of Commercial Vehicles

Standing at the critical juncture of the opening year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," the mass-production roll-off of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle is yet another important achievement in BAIC Foton's advancement of its three major strategies: comprehensive internationalization, comprehensive new-energy transformation, and comprehensive intelligentization. Facing industry trends of deep integration between electrification and intelligentization, as well as the restructuring of the global landscape, BAIC Foton is leveraging key technologies to build a vertically integrated synergy advantage across core components including batteries, e-drives, and electronic controls.

The official production launch of the AxTrax 2 electric drive axle not only provides strong technical support for BAIC Foton's new-energy commercial vehicles but also sets a benchmark for the localized development of electric drive technology in China's commercial vehicle industry. Going forward, the BAIC Foton–ZF transmission joint venture plant will continue to drive cost revolution through technological innovation, unlock efficiency potential through lean management, and push new-energy commercial vehicles toward a new phase of market-driven growth.